Paralympic wheelchair basketballer and academic Dr Georgia Munro-Cook gives us a guide on how to follow your new favourite disability sports after Paris.
Image: Angel – stock.adobe.com
Every four years, Australians come together to watch the best athletes with a disability compete in the Paralympic Games, falling in love with our Paralympic stars. The Tokyo Paralympics were the most watched games in history in Australia, and Paris looks to build on this trend, with a record number of countries set to televise the games. But while most viewers are only exposed to disability sport every four years, athletes are competing year-round, often for small crowds and no money.
Australian para-athletes need national leagues and competitions to gain experience, get more people involved, and get game opportunities, especially for team sports. But without more eyeballs and more support, it is hard for leagues to grow and offer the necessary opportunities for us to keep winning medals.
As a wheelchair basketballer, I often say that when people actually watch our games, they fall in love with the sport. That’s true for most Paralympic sports.
But people often have no idea how to find or watch games outside of the Paralympics. Information is often hard to find, and dates are often finalised late.
That’s where this article is here to help!
Here’s where you can keep up with our Paralympic stars year-round:
Wheelchair Basketball
Australia has two national leagues: The NWBL and WNWBL. The NWBL is an open league, mostly for men, but with some of the best women competing alongside. The WNWBL is a women’s league, where Gliders and emerging stars compete together.
The leagues generally run between April and September and are played at home grounds in most of the major capital cities. Spectating is often free or is a small donation. Games are streamed on Wheelchair Basketball Australia’s Youtube page, while finals this year were streamed on Kayo Freebies.
Why you should watch: Both leagues are full of the best players in Australia, as well as some of the best imports from around the world. It’s also the place where our future Rollers and Gliders get better. The Gliders women’s team failed to qualify for Paris this year, so the WNWBL is where they’ll develop the next generation of young talent so they can get back to the Paralympics in Los Angeles. You can help them on this mission by going to games and helping build the league. It also means it’ll be the only time you can see stars like Hannah Dodd, Laura Davoli and Amber Merritt in Australia. While the league is over for this year, keep an eye out for next year.
For more information head here and follow the Facebook page here.
Wheelchair Rugby
The Wheelchair Rugby National League takes place across three rounds in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane between March and July. Each round involves teams playing in a round-robin style tournament across the weekend. Games are free to go and watch.
There is also the Wheelchair Rugby National Championships, which rotates cities. It is often streamed on Kayo Freebies.
Wheelchair Rugby is a gender-neutral sport, so you’ll see men and women competing alongside each other.
Why you should watch: If you think wheelchair rugby looks rough on TV, wait until you see the big hits in person! Both the National League and National championships involve Aussie Steelers stars like Rylie Batt, Chris Bond, and Shae Graham. You also might see some stars from New Zealand.
For more information head here and follow the Facebook page here.
Boccia
The Boccia Australia National Titles are being held from 1st to the 4th of November 2024, at the Whitlam Leisure Centre in Liverpool.
Why you should watch: Australia has had great success in Boccia at recent games, with high hopes for Jamieson Haydon and Daniel Michel in Paris. Boccia is also very inclusive, as one of the few sports that cater to people with high support needs.
For more information head here.
Swimming
Swimming meets often have disabled and non-disabled athletes competing at the same event. For example, this year the Olympic and Paralympic trials were held together and shown on Nine and 9Now. Watch for other similar National events, as the involvement of para-athletes isn’t always publicised.
You can also keep an eye out for the biennial World Para Swimming Championships, which will be held from 21-27th September 2025 in Singapore.
Why you should watch: The Australian para-swimming team have won more Paralympic medals than any country aside from the U.S. and Great Britain. Watch our biggest stars and look out for up-and-coming talent.
For more information head here and view the calendar here.
Athletics
Australian athletes compete in the Para Athletics World Championships, which in 2024 was broadcast on 9Now.
In Australia, all events run by Athletics Australia have opportunities for para-athletes. These include national championships such as the Australian Open championship, which run annually in March/April.
Marathons also often have para-categories, where you might see star racer Madison de Rozario.
Why you should watch: Some of our most successful and well-known Paralympians come from athletics, and with a variety of different events, there’s always something to look out for.
For more information head here.
Wheelchair Tennis
The Australian Open includes a wheelchair division, a competition that is growing in size every year.
Why you should watch: While Dylan Alcott may have retired, we still have some great tennis players to watch, including Anderson Parker and Ben Weekes.
On the women’s side, if you want to watch dominance, the Netherlands’ Diede de Groot has won a record 23 singles titles.
Para-Cycling
If you’re in Perth from 8-12th January 2025, you can watch the AusCycling Road National Championships! This event includes both para and able-bodied categories.
If track cycling is more your thing, the annual AusCycling Para-cycling Track National Championships is one to watch out for. This can be watched on the AusCycling youtube.
Why you should watch: You’ll be able to watch some of our gold medal winners like Amanda Reid and Emily Petricola.
For more information head here.
Para-Canoe
Our para-canoeists compete alongside their able-bodied counterparts at the annual ICF Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Championships.
Closer to home, the 2024 Canoe Sprint Grand Prix 1 & LD National Championships take place from 6-8th December 2024, in West Lakes, South Australia.
Why you should watch: Our Para-Canoe team includes three-time gold medallist Curtis McGrath, as well as two-time medallist Susan Siepel.
For more information head here.
Other sports
There are other Para-sports that haven’t yet been able to build national leagues, but could use you help to grow as they look towards the next Paralympics. Here are some to look out for:
Sitting Volleyball: The Australia Volleyball Sitting Volleyball Championships are returning after 20 years! They’ll be held on 14-15 September 2024 at Red Energy Arena, Bendigo, just prior to the able-bodied Youth Volleyball championships.
Goalball: Goalball doesn’t have a national league, but there are state based leagues which you can keep an eye out for here.
Para-Rowing: In Australia, most rowing regattas include para categories, although these are not well publicised. There are also international para-rowing regattas.
It may be a bit harder to follow para-sport year-round, but the rewards are worth it!